Nancy Jean Swinyer

Nancy Jean (Oliver) Swinyer, 69, of Bloomingdale, N.Y., died at home on August 31 after a battle with lung cancer.

Nancy was a lifelong resident of the area and grew up in Gabriels on a farm with her seven sisters and brother. From a young age, Nancy took an active role in her community by participating in the Brighton Beavers 4-H Club with her sisters. This is where she began honing her immaculate sewing skills, conducting business meetings and even raising a German Shepherd puppy to be a guide dog for the blind.

Not long after graduating from Saranac Lake Central School, Nancy met the man who became her loving husband and champion, Sheridan (Sween) Swinyer. The two met at Nick ’n Vern’s on State Route 3 in Bloomingdale. They married on August 10, 1974, in a ceremony at the Methodist Church, surrounded by their friends and family.

Nancy would go on to become integral to the lives of many in Bloomingdale and in the surrounding area, where she invested her love and soul into her community. Over the decades, Nancy was a member of the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department and Auxiliary, often in leadership roles. She ran Election Day operations and organized numerous golf leagues and events, as well as thousands of other unseen tasks that keep a small town running.

As hardworking as she was humble, Nancy took her turn in the spotlight in 1988, when she joined the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department as the first female firefighter in the Tri-Lakes region.

"I was very excited for the fact that I am a woman, that I did bridge the male organization," she said when interviewed by the Adirondack Daily Enterprise about her achievement.

In addition to firefighting for 25 years, Nancy was also an accomplished seamstress. She also worked at the Bloomingdale Post Office, and for decades at Asplin Tree Farms creating works of art out of embroidered balsam pillows, holiday wreaths and more.

If all of this was not enough, in addition to raising three of her own children, Nancy provided her friends and family with daily childcare. What began with one baby boy in 1982, throughout the 1980s would become a flock of little ones that she would raise as her own. After sending the original “Nancy’s Kids” into the world, she would reprise the role for the next generation, including her grandchildren.

Born in Saranac Lake, N.Y., on November 29, 1954, Nancy was the daughter of Donald and Cynthia (Begor) Oliver.

Nancy is survived by her husband Sheridan, son Mack (Suzanne) Swinyer, daughters Katrena (Todd) Isabella and Tamera (Bob-o Farrington) Swinyer, grandchildren Ava and Abby Isabella, Emma and Jackson Swinyer, Wyatt Farrington, Ella and Brynn Lapointe. Also surviving are her mother Cynthia (Begor) Oliver, her sisters Sharalon (Bob) Snickles, Cindy (Don) Amell, Robin (Jamie) Shanty, Judy (Tim) Heath, Kimberly (Kevin) Woodruff, sister-in-law Valerie Oliver, and many nieces, nephews, and honorary family members.

She is predeceased by her father Donald, mother-in-law Mildred Swinyer, sister Alonna Willette, brother Roger Oliver, nephew Chad Oliver, brother-in-law Mickey Swinyer and sisters-in-law Norma Longo and Fay Gauthier.

Funeral arrangements are in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A celebration of life will take place at a later date to be announced. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department, 1635 State Route 3, Bloomingdale, N.Y. 12913. Family and friends can share their condolences and memories at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.